5G trial run on July 25
The government now plans to go for a trial run of 5G mobile technology, which has caused the mobile users to raise an eyebrow, as its predecessor -- 4G -- is yet to cover major parts of the country.
On July 25, Chinese telecom vendor Huawei will conduct the daylong trial run of the 5G (fifth generation) technology with the help of two mobile operators Robi and Teletalk, at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital.
Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Regulatory Commi-ssion has already allotted 800 Megahertz spectrum to Huawei on a temporary basis.
The Chinese telecom giant will have to pay Tk 5 lakh to use the spectrum on 27555 to 28355 bands for a week and the event will be organised under the title of Bangladesh 5G Summit.
5G will change the digital life and Bangladesh wants to take lead in this arena by deploying state-of-the-art technology, Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar told The Daily Star.
"We have decided to go for the test run as the world is now moving very fast for 5G. We can't waste our time."
5G will dramatically increase the internet speed, offering a boost to self-driving cars, drones, virtual reality and the Internet of Things.
Only a handful mobile phone users have so far adopted 4G technology since its launch in February this year thanks to the slower response from operators in bringing all areas under the coverage of the fourth generation service, experts said.
The people in Bangladesh are not ready now to use 5G as the mobile users still use internet mostly to browse Facebook, said Mahmud Hossain, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone. It may take five more years to introduce 5G in Bangladesh, said the official of the country's largest mobile operator.
"4G is our main focus now. We will definitely adopt 5G when it comes. But there's still a lot to be done for 4G."
Very few developed countries in the world have conducted test run and adopted 5G technology on a limited scale. South Korea is leading the way here.
Citycell was the first mobile operator to start operation in Bangladesh in 1993. Aktel (now known as Robi), Grameenphone and Banglalink followed suit in 1997 and Bangladesh entered into the world of 3G in 2013.
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